pg03ben Posted April 3, 2010 Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 (edited) Hi! Just joined up looking for a bit of advice really.... I have an old Saracen X-Tort Team that i'm putting a bit more effort into rebuilding back into a trials bike. From what I remember, they were used in the mid/late 90's are trails frames! Anyways, here is the old girl.. (latest pic I have... its changed a bit since xmas) I NEED new wheels. The ones on there are horrible, heavy, rotten, bent.............. etc etc. I also want rigid forks and v-brakes. So.... help! lol. I've recently put a set of old saint cranks on there... they're uber stiff and great for hopping about on. I'm trying to keep it as cheap as possible... 2nd had is fine by me So... aside from being told to put it all in the bin can anyone give me some ideas?! Cheers! Ben Edited April 3, 2010 by pg03ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeanuckleJive Posted April 3, 2010 Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 Lower the seat and if you wanna save a bit of weight, cut off any excess seat post tube, so you just have enough under the seat for the clamp to grip it V brakes are very popular these days so if you can get some good V brakes and set them up properly, they will do you for now Also lower gearing is ideal for trials, what gearing do you have on the saint cranks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pg03ben Posted April 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 Lower the seat and if you wanna save a bit of weight, cut off any excess seat post tube, so you just have enough under the seat for the clamp to grip it V brakes are very popular these days so if you can get some good V brakes and set them up properly, they will do you for now Also lower gearing is ideal for trials, what gearing do you have on the saint cranks? Hey.. cheers for they reply Yea basically ignore how the bike looks now Seat and seatpost cost me a pricey sum of £10... i'd been riding it to work over christmas! Saints are currently at 34T IIRC... what T is recommended front and rear for trials? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeanuckleJive Posted April 3, 2010 Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 Hey.. cheers for they reply Yea basically ignore how the bike looks now Seat and seatpost cost me a pricey sum of £10... i'd been riding it to work over christmas! Saints are currently at 34T IIRC... what T is recommended front and rear for trials? ahhh, most of us start on something ghetto so it's all good If you like riding around a lot it's probably worth keeping the long post then as for gearing, I dunno much about stock (26" wheel) gearing, but a lot of cranks come with 22 tooth chainrings, I think 22 front and 18 rear is fairly typical but not too sure, somebody will probably correct me a lot of it is personal preference really though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurence--Trials Posted April 3, 2010 Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 (edited) Hi! Just joined up looking for a bit of advice really.... I have an old Saracen X-Tort Team that i'm putting a bit more effort into rebuilding back into a trials bike. From what I remember, they were used in the mid/late 90's are trails frames! Anyways, here is the old girl.. (latest pic I have... its changed a bit since xmas) I NEED new wheels. The ones on there are horrible, heavy, rotten, bent.............. etc etc I also want rigid forks and v-brakes AND A NEW FRAME! - www.tartybikes.co.uk So.... help! lol. I've recently put a set of old saint cranks on there... they're uber stiff and great for hopping about on. I'm trying to keep it as cheap as possible... 2nd had is fine by me So... aside from being told to put it all in the bin can anyone give me some ideas?! Cheers! Ben EDIT: ^^ scrap that idea. Whole new bike i think! Things have changed a little since the 90s. If you did want to keep that bike and change minimum parts i'd say: frame, forks, sprocket, wheel(s), stem, bars. I didn't mean to sound rude in that post if it sounded like that. Edited April 3, 2010 by Laurence--Trials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pg03ben Posted April 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 EDIT: ^^ scrap that idea. Whole new bike i think! Things have changed a little since the 90s. If you did want to keep that bike and change minimum parts i'd say: frame, forks, sprocket, wheel(s), stem, bars. I didn't mean to sound rude in that post if it sounded like that. Hehe.. Dw! Was expecting a response like that (hense the "be gentle" in the title lol). I would buy a new bike... but i've no idea what I want/if I will get properly into trials etc etc... Just want to build up the Saracen to muck about on! ahhh, most of us start on something ghetto so it's all good If you like riding around a lot it's probably worth keeping the long post then as for gearing, I dunno much about stock (26" wheel) gearing, but a lot of cranks come with 22 tooth chainrings, I think 22 front and 18 rear is fairly typical but not too sure, somebody will probably correct me a lot of it is personal preference really though Ahh i'm not too fussed.. I was only commuting because the forests were unridable! (i'm usually found on a MTB, but would like to try something a bit different! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modifiedridah2k9 Posted April 3, 2010 Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 when you become a full member i will sell u some good handlebars if you want for £20. they are fatboy funnbars and have been cut down a little bit,saves come weight. pm me when you are a full member if your interested Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeanuckleJive Posted April 3, 2010 Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 EDIT: ^^ scrap that idea. Whole new bike i think! Things have changed a little since the 90s. If you did want to keep that bike and change minimum parts i'd say: frame, forks, sprocket, wheel(s), stem, bars. I didn't mean to sound rude in that post if it sounded like that. so basically, you recommend he keeps the chain, headset and brakes and that's about it? haha... Hehe.. Dw! Was expecting a response like that (hense the "be gentle" in the title lol). I would buy a new bike... but i've no idea what I want/if I will get properly into trials etc etc... Just want to build up the Saracen to muck about on! You just starting out in trials or been riding before? if you're just starting out I really wouldn't bother with spending a load of money on a new bike when you can make this one perfectly usable and good enough for a beginner for not a lot more money A totally basic stock trials bike starts at about £300 if you're lucky When I started trials I did it on an old 24" apollo, I spent £25 on some onza cranks and about a tenner more on some better brake pads and that did me for ages, then when it started to fail me and fall apart I got myself a mod bike, 2nd hand and carried on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pg03ben Posted April 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 so basically, you recommend he keeps the chain, headset and brakes and that's about it? haha... You just starting out in trials or been riding before? if you're just starting out I really wouldn't bother with spending a load of money on a new bike when you can make this one perfectly usable and good enough for a beginner for not a lot more money A totally basic stock trials bike starts at about £300 if you're lucky When I started trials I did it on an old 24" apollo, I spent £25 on some onza cranks and about a tenner more on some better brake pads and that did me for ages, then when it started to fail me and fall apart I got myself a mod bike, 2nd hand and carried on Never really tried trials to be honest... i'm usually out every weekend on the MTB, but i've sold my old custom bike and am in the middle of another (£1.8k gone already, gulp) so am looking to keep myself occupied with another one of my old bikes that hasn't been ridden for a while!! I'm a big stocky bloke... so the Saracen is nice and small for me and I can throw it about pretty well. I think the main things I need to change are the wheels and forks... then grab some v's and i'd be pretty much set! everything else can be changed if/when needed What sort of rigid forks/wheels should i be looking at with a rather limited budget? Cheers, B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeanuckleJive Posted April 3, 2010 Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 I dunno much about stock bikes to be honest, have a look on tartybikes or ebay for 26" trials forks, might be something good and cheap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mods Posted April 4, 2010 Report Share Posted April 4, 2010 The bottom bracket drop might hinder you a bit when learning. A lot of people started on a frame like that and it gave them a good grounding for the sport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pg03ben Posted April 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2010 on another note... whats the deal with tyres? Tis something i've not taken into consideration really.. Currently got DMR RT which are heavy but offer an adequate amount of grip... do you guys like to run higher or low pressures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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